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Politicisation threat should be resisted, says FDA

1 August 2012(For immediate release)

The Government's announcement that it intends to commission a review of alternative civil service accountability models is a worrying development towards politicisation, the FDA warned today. The FDA is the union representing the UK's senior civil servants.

FDA general secretary Dave Penman said:

"The UK's system of a permanent and politically impartial civil service is a constitutional bedrock that has served successive governments well. The civil service has undergone significant reform in the past 30 years, but in the clamour for change it is vital that its core values are not lost. Rather they should be nurtured during difficult times.

"The FDA is not against change, but change that would damage the ability of civil servants to give impartial advice and would help ministers play to the party political gallery is to be firmly resisted."

Notes for editors

1. The FDA is the trade union and professional body representing 18,000 of the UK's senior civil and public servants. Our members include policy advisors, senior managers, tax inspectors, economists, statisticians, accountants, special advisers, government lawyers, diplomats, crown prosecutors and NHS managers.

2. Members in HMRC are represented by the Association of Revenue and Customs (ARC), a section of the FDA.

3. The FDA (formerly the First Division Association) should be referred to simply as "The FDA" and can be described as "the senior public servants' union".